While Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association failed to find common ground after a month of jousting in the midst of a global pandemic, leading to MLB implementing a 60-game 2020 schedule, they did agree on health and safety protocols on Tuesday, opening the door for a most unique season that they hope to begin in July.
Commissioner Rob Manfred's implementation after players rejected a final MLB proposal Monday brought a conclusion to what likely will be viewed as a distasteful chapter in baseball history. Yet despite the often rancorous back-and-forth between the sides, there will be baseball this season — provided both sides deem it safe as COVID-19 cases spike anew from coast to coast.
"All remaining issues have been resolved," the MLBPA announced in a statement Tuesday night, "and Players are reporting to training camps."
While the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 120,000 Americans will have the ultimate say on whether a 2020 baseball season comes off, players and teams can now ramp up activities knowing the financial part of the equation is settled.
A truncated spring training is scheduled to begin July 1, largely at teams’ home stadiums after MLB ordered spring-training facilities closed Friday after a COVID-19 outbreak at the Philadelphia Phillies' camp in Florida and a suspected positive case in Toronto's camp. Sometime in July, teams will likely play a handful of exhibition games.
And then, provided there are no further significant setbacks to player health and public safety, a date that at many junctures seemed unlikely: Opening Day, on July 23 or 24.
But it would be an opener unlike any other, only partially because COVID-19 restrictions would bar fans from the stands. For the first time, the designated hitter will be used in the National League, perhaps for just this season.
Extra-inning games will begin with a runner on second base, with tie games a possibility. all games will be played against teams in each club's own geographic region - 40 games against divisional rivals and 20 against interleague teams.
To read more about the MLB 2020 season, go to USA Today.
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